The first time I saw Luna straining in the litter box, I thought she was having trouble peeing. She would go in, scratch around, squat… and nothing. Then she’d get out. Then go back in. Then squat again. Her little face looked confused. Frustrated. Almost scared. I sat on the bathroom floor with her for
The first summer I noticed Finn’s grass allergy, I thought he had fleas. He was scratching. Constantly. His belly was pink and irritated. He would come inside from the yard and immediately start licking his paws like they were covered in hot sauce. I checked him for fleas three times. Nothing. I changed his food.
The first time I noticed Finn’s dry nose, I didn’t give it much thought. It was winter. The heat was blasting in our house. My own lips were chapped. My knuckles were cracking. So when Finn’s usually wet, cold nose felt warm and rough, I thought: “Eh, winter. It happens.” But then it got worse.
The first time I saw my cat Luna do it, I thought she was having a seizure. I was sitting on the couch, reading, when she jumped onto the windowsill. Outside, a squirrel was taunting her from the bird feeder. Luna’s body went low. Her tail started twitching. Her pupils dilated into huge black saucers.
The first time I noticed Luna’s watery eye, I thought she was crying. I know that sounds silly. Cats don’t cry emotional tears like humans. But there she was, sitting on the windowsill, and a single tear rolled down her cheek from her left eye. Not both eyes. Just the left one. I scooped her
The first time Luna threw up white foam, I thought she was dying. It was 6 AM. I was half-asleep, stumbling to the kitchen to make coffee. And then I heard it. That unmistakable sound. The hacking. The heaving. The “I’m about to ruin your morning” cough that every cat owner knows. But when I
The first time I noticed Finn limping, my heart stopped. We had just come back from our morning walk. He was trotting ahead of me, tail wagging, happy as always. And then I saw it. A slight hitch in his step. A tiny hesitation every time his front left paw hit the pavement. I dropped
The day Finn struggled to jump onto the couch, my heart broke. He didn’t whine. He didn’t limp. He just… paused. Looked at the couch. Looked at me. Then put his front paws up and waited. For the first time in his life, he needed help hauling his back end over the edge. I helped
The first time I noticed Finn shaking his head, I didn’t think much of it. He’s a Golden Retriever. He shakes his head after swimming. After eating. After rolling on the carpet. After existing, basically. But then the shaking became more frequent. Then came the smell. That distinct, yeasty, corn-chip-but-worse smell that every dog owner
The first time Luna had a sneezing fit, I thought it was adorable. She was sitting on the windowsill, sniffing a flower I had just brought inside. Her little nose twitched. Then: Ah-choo! Ah-choo! Ah-choo-choo-choo! Three sneezes in a row, followed by a confused blink and a head tilt. I laughed. I took a video.